Saturday, April 10, 2010

WALLOPS -- The Marine Science Consortium is looking for a few good men and women to help with a unique project. The consortium is refinishing more than 200 wooden chairs that will be classroom and lab seating in its new Leadership in Environment and Design Certified Education Center. The certification denotes the level of sustainability and green design that goes into a building.

The Education Center is being built with sustainable products, has high efficiency heating and cooling systems, low VOC paints and other products used indoors, low water use systems and is landscaped with plants native to the Eastern Shore.

"It's so wonderful to have a building that can be a model for other new building projects on the Shore," says Executive Director Amber Parker. "We not only want the building to be sustainable, but also the furnishing and other elements that fill it. The chairs we are refinishing were originally used in classrooms in Bloomsburg College in the late 1950s. They were donated to MSC, probably in the early 1970s. These attractive, comfortable chairs only need a facelift to continue to serve MSC for years to come."

Restoring and reusing the chairs creates a story of sustainability by allowing the consortium to show how, with just a bit of elbow grease, sturdy, old furniture can be revitalized and reused, instead of throwing it away and purchasing something new.

Sanding and giving multiple coats of polyurethane to more than 200 chairs does take some effort. Many have been completed, thanks to the efforts of staff and college student service weekend; however, there are many left to complete. The consortium would like to invite volunteers from the community to assist with this big project so that they can be a part of its story.

Volunteers should be comfortable using belt or circular sanders. The consortium will provide all training necessary. Service groups and individual volunteers are welcome.

Erin Paula, an aspiring dental hygienist in Los Angeles, probably already knows that Alicia Keys' 'Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart' is an incredibly challenging song to sing. Written to be sung at the top of its performer's range, the ballad is gorgeous, dripping with heartfelt desperation and redemption.

Students at Virginia Tech University have succeeded in breaking down another barrier for the disabled: Building a vehicle that allows the blind to drive.

Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory developed a driver-assist system that uses laser range finders, an instant voice-command interface and a host of other cutting-edge technologies to guide blind drivers as they steer, brake and accelerate. The new system was put to good use last year at a summer camp where 20 blind and low-vision teens were able to take the wheel of a retrofitted dune buggy and navigate a course completely on their own.

"Although we are in the early stages of testing, the National Federation of the Blind -- which spurred the project -- considers the vehicle a major breakthrough for independent living of the visually impaired," said Dr. Dennis Hong, faculty adviser on the project.

Hong saw similarities between the technology used in Virginia Tech’s DARPA Urban Challenge, a military vehicle research and development program, and the requirements of the NFB’s Blind Driver Challenge.

"Our original goal was to simply make the vehicle accessible to the blind," noted Hong. "After speaking with the NFB, we decided to make a vehicle that could be independently operated by a blind driver."

Admit it, it drives you nuts: You know someone who has cheated on his or her taxes, and you think you can't do a thing about it. Or maybe you can.

The IRS Whistleblower Office was established by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 to encourage taxpayers who witness tax problems to make reports to the taxing authorities. Mechanisms for making reports had been in place for nearly 150 years, but the 2006 law created new procedures and incentives for processing and investigating taxpayer claims. To encourage more taxpayers to come forward, the IRS made a public show about the fact that they may pay awards to people who provide specific and credible information to the IRS about non-compliant taxpayers.

Remember those words: specific and credible. The IRS wants details. They don't want guesses or beliefs. They don't want to hear that your neighbor has to be under reporting her income because she otherwise couldn't afford a new car on her salary (you don't know that her long lost uncle just died and left her a bunch of money). And just because you've never personally walked a tax return to the post office for your employer doesn't mean that he or she hasn't filed one.

If you can provide sufficient information that leads to the collection of taxes, penalties, interest, or other amounts from the non-compliant taxpayer, you can be eligible to collect one of two awards:

If the amount in dispute exceeds $2 million, the IRS will pay a whistleblower up to 30% of the amount collected. If the alleged tax cheater is an individual taxpayer, his or her annual gross income must be more than $200,000 for the whistleblower to be eligible to collect this award.

In most other cases, the maximum award is 15% of the amount collected up to $10 million

If you're sure you have a claim -- and you're willing to swear to it under the penalty of perjury -- you kick things off by filing a federal form 211. The form requires that you include your name and personally identifying information, such as your Social Security number and address. You must then detail the information you have that you believe supports your claim of unpaid taxes, including the amounts; you must attach any evidence you have to support your claims. You're required to share with the IRS how you know about the potential tax violations. Finally, you have to reveal a complete description of your relationship to the taxpayer (hint: using "my jerky ex-boyfriend" will not help your cause).

Poland's president, his wife and some of the country's most prominent military and civilian leaders died this morning when their plane crashed while coming in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia.

Russian and Polish officials gave differing death tolls but agreed there were no survivors.

President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria were heading to Russia's Smolensk region to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, where Soviet secret police killed thousands of Polish officers during World War II.

"The Polish presidential plane did not make it to the runway while landing. Tentative findings indicate that it hit the treetops and fell apart," Smolensk's governor, Sergei Anufriev, told Russian TV. "Nobody has survived the disaster."

Russian officials said the plane was carrying 96 people, while Poland's foreign ministry put the figure at 88.

Local media showed footage of the crash site, where firefighters sprayed water on smoldering wreckage strewn through a wooded area. A tail fin with Poland's red and white flag colors stuck up from the debris. The plane reportedly went down less than 400 yards from an airport runway.

There was no word yet on what caused the crash. Poland's presidential plane was a Soviet-built Tupolev TU154M, at least 20 years old. Officials have long considered replacing the Polish fleet, but said they lacked the funds. The exact plane involved in today's crash was fully overhauled in December, including repairs to three engines and updating navigation equipment, an aviation director told Russian TV. He said there was no doubt that the plane was flightworthy.

According to the Aviation Safety Network, there have been 66 crashes involving Tu-154s, including six in the past five years. Russia recently withdrew its Tu-154 fleet from service.

Also among the dead were the chief of staff of the Polish army, the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers.

"We still cannot fully understand the scope of this tragedy and what it means for us in the future. Nothing like this has ever happened in Poland," the country's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Piotr Paszkowski, told The Associated Press. "We can assume with great certainty that all persons on board have been killed."

For some, the plane crash evoked haunting memories of the Katyn massacre.

"It is a damned place," former president Aleksander Kwas'niewski told Polish TV. "It sends shivers down my spine. First the flower of the Second Polish Republic is murdered in the forests around Smolensk, now the intellectual elite of the Third Polish Republic die in this tragic plane crash when approaching Smolensk airport."

This is where the book starts getting interesting, it leaves the description and starts with the city's people, business' happenings etc.

44 History of Pocomoke City

The reader is already aware that this place was called Ware House Landing, and that name continued until 1780 or thereabouts, when it was changed to New Town. There is no record of the fact, why, or by whom the change was made.

I remember about forty years ago, of having an interview with a man by the name of Reville, who said that he gave to this place the name of New Town. Be that as it may, there are some reflections presumptive of the fact. He was at the time of the interview eighty or ninety years old, so that at the time the place was named, he was twenty or twenty-five years old, admitting the fact that he was not a conspicuous man in the community, and that such changes generally take place by men of distinc- tion, yet it will be remembered that the inhabitants of the place were very few, and the surrounding country sparsely settled, so that there is a possibility that his statement is true, though I leave the reader to form his own con- clusions, CHAPTER II. TOWN LIMITS.

We will now proceed to consider the geographical position or town limits of the place. There were no incorporate lines encircling it then as we have now, so that I shall have to prescribe them for the town as it existed as late as 1820. As the Hill or Public Square was the center of the town, the reader will start with me from this place, and go out Front Street as far as the Bridge Causeway, or Colonel Merrill's property, thence Formerly New Town. 45 take a straight course to the corner of Market and Second Streets, thence out Second to Willow Street, thence down Willow to the junction of Willow and Front Streets, thence on Front to the Hill or Public Square.

These limits may be safely considered as the boundary lines of New Town as late as the above date. In order to have a more perfect view of the place, at this date, we will begin with a description of its County Wharf, Public Square, Streets and Houses. The County Wharf lies directly between Messrs. Clark, and Smullen & Brother's granaries, and is twenty-eight feet long. I have tried to find the date when this wharf was built, by having the record of Worcester and Somerset counties both searched, but have failed ; the presumption is, however, that it's date reaches back to 1700, which is the date of the build- ing of the Tobacco Warehouse.

The reader may now stand upon this wharf and contemplate the fact, that sixty years ago there was naught on either side of it, but bramble, tuckahoes and mud flats. It is true there was a shoal or canoe landing at the foot of Willow Street, more in the direction of Fontain's ice house, where we used to fasten our canoes, and also a landing at the old Shipyard : the same place that is used as a shipyard by James T. Young. The Public Square or Hill, as we used to call it, was sixty years ago, a hill of some prominence, but time has leveled it.

It was then, as now, entirely surrounded by houses, though of a different character, while now they are all business houses ; then they were all family resi- 46 History of Pocomoke City, dences, with one or two exceptions, Consequently the hill was the center of the town for business and social life. Here the men and boys would meet in the evenings and have their sports, plays and social pastimes ; here, too, the merchants would pile their lumber, consisting of planks, laths, &c. Here, on this hill, I have witnessed many a hard fight, and many funny scenes. There were four principal streets, which were called roads, namely : Market Street, which was called Virginia road ; Second Street, which was called Cedar Hall Road ; Front Street, winding round into Linden Street and onward, was called the Snow Hill Road ; and lastly, the old Ferry Road, which had its convergence in the Snow Hill Road, leading to the Hill or Public Square. There were two or three other streets, which were of minor importance, only one of which might be recognized as a public thorough-fare, and that was Willow Street.

Within the limits of the town, there. were twenty-eight dwelling houses and seven or eight business houses com- prising stores and mechanical shops. Outside of those limits, there were five houses, occupied by families, which might be considered suburban residences.

The old Methodist Episcopal Church that stood on the site of the present one, which now is in the heart of the town, was then in the suburbs, in full conformity with the old custom to put the Church out of town. The houses were mostly one story high, they were built out of good material, and in workmanlike order, for those days. Some were finished inside with beaut'.ful formerly New Town. 47 jDanel work, others again were lathed and plastered, while many were never finished at all. In order to ascertain the population of the town, we may calculate five to a family, the probabilities of which the reader can determine, as well as myself, we have then 'within its limits one hundred and forty-persons ; if we include the five suburban families, on the same basis, we "have twenty-five more, making the aggregate one hundred and sixty-five persons living in New Town and its precincts • as late as 1820. I have thus given a description of New Town, of its County Wharf, Public Square, Houses, .'Streets, and Town Limits, up to 1820, and shall close this part of the history by saying that the old Tobacco Ware- house, which had served its day during Colonial times, , was, after the independence of the Colonies and the •establishment of the currency of the Republic in dollars -and cents, left to decay, and having stood until about 18 19 •was finally torn down.

CHAPTER III. GROWTH, CHANGE OF NAME, ETC, Of the enlargement and general improvement of the '■town, from 1820 to the present time, (1882.) For the first two decades there was no advancement of ■any extent in this direction. From 1840 to i860, enterprise seemed to lay its hand ^pon New Town and claim it for its subject. New build- ings were erected, of modern taste, comprising store houses, dwelling houses, churches and an academy ; some 48 Ilut-ry of Poco moke City, of them reaching out into the suburbs. For all the- country from the corner of Market and Second Streets, all' around, was unoccupied save a few dwellings which were- scattering. Where the Protestant Episcopal and Methodist Pro- testant Churches now stand, together with all other - houses on the eastern side of Market Street, was a farm,, and the old homestead was where Captain Isaac N. Veasey now lives. All the country on the south-west side of r Market Street, save a few unimportant small dwellings,, was cultivated lots and woods.

All the land from Littleton. Duer's coner, the south-eastern side of Second Street, running to Cedar street, embracing the high school and', beyond, was a field in which I have worked many a day, when a little boy. "hoeing corn." "In 1S65, an act of incorporation was secured, and in it' full power and authority was given the Town Commis- sioners to widen and straighten old streets, and to lay out* and construct new ones, and to perform such other acts* as, in their judgment, might be required to secure the health, happiness and prosperity of the town." " At the first election held under this charter, the people -hose C. C. Lloyd, W. S. C. Polk, Charles Marshall,. Joseph Riley and W. J. Long, for Town Commissioners,, all good and active men, who soon showed, by their acts,, that they were intent on improvements." " They appointed a commission composed of Edward. S. Young, Dr. John L. Hearn, and William S. Dickinson,, to make a survey of the town, and to straighten and widen.- Formerly New Town.

49* the old streets and lay out several new ones.

They per- formed their duty promptly and well, and soon the town' began to assume something like proportion and regularity. No one, unacquainted with New Town at that period, can imagine the vast changes and improvements made by these acts." The above quotations I have taken from Dr. John T. B. McMaster's Centennial Address, delivered before the people of Pocomoke City, on the 4th of July, 1876.

The reader will learn that the above commission extended the limits of New Town about three-fourths of a mile, in every direction, from the Public Square, save from its north-western course, as in that direction it is bounded by the Pocomoke river, upon whose southern side the town lies.

From 1865 down to the present day, progress, unprece- dented by the past, has marked its course, so that now we have in New Town, or Pocomoke City, well laid out- streets, some of which are macadamized and contribute, in no little degree, to the enjoyment of an evening drive.

There are within the limits of the corporation about two- hundred and twenty-five houses, comprising dwellings, store houses, mechanical shops, steam mills, churches, the- Clark house and high-school building, both of which are ornaments to the place. Indeed, the high-school building is of such a character as to call forth, in terms of praise,, the declaration from the Superintendant of Public Schools of Maryland, in an address, delivered before the citizens of New Town, that "it was the finest school building 011 the Eastern Shore of Maryland."

The new law, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), goes into effect April 22, 2010. It requires workers to take extra precautions when handling lead-based paint during renovations on houses, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978. The new measures include testing for lead with swabs, sealing off the area inside with plastic sheeting, masks and other protective gear for workers, proper clean-up and proper disposal of the lead-based paint.

So what's wrong with playing it safe? One of the chief complaints is that all these extra precautions could force contractors to drive up the price of home renovations in houses built before 1978. Some detractors say the new standards place too big a burden on professional renovators. If your home was build before 1978, and the contractors you hire don't have the proper certifications, or have not trained their workers, they will not be legally allowed to do the work.

But the process of certifying hundreds of thousands of contractors -- which requires attending an 8-hour class and passing a written test -- and training their workers takes time, and it's lagging far behind. Some contractors critical of the new rules say they will not comply and will simply stop working on older homes, which are more likely to contain lead paint.

Those contractors who do choose to work in older homes will have to charge a lot more for the extra training, certification, materials, and steps involved in testing for lead paint. And that's homeowners' chief criticism of the new regulations: they'll inevitably drive up the costs of home improvement.

Other critics say it's a case of big government going overboard.And it's not just small contractors who object. The National Association of Home Builders has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to delay the requirements until the certification program gets spiffed up. Their complaints include a lack of qualified trainers and inaccurate test kits for lead paint.

And on March 31, U.S. Senate Minority Leader John Boehner sent a letter to EPA head Lisa Jackson asking her to "consider revisiting" the law until benefits are proven to outweigh the costs.

Of course, not everyone is opposed to the new regulations. Supporters of the new law hail the protection it gives to both professional renovation workers and the occupants of the homes and facilities under renovation. According to the EPA, which mandated the protections, "Lead may cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old and under are most at risk."

The protections could also affect children of renovation workers who could carry lead-contaminated dust home on their clothing, skin and hair.

Before the health dangers of lead were known, lead was used to strengthen many products, including paints. Lead in paint was outlawed in 1978, thus houses built after that are generally considered lead-free, at least in terms of paint

The dried paint itself is not hazardous unless it is disturbed by renovation work, and can be ingested through breathing (in dust form) or orally (kids have a tendency to put small objects like paint chips into their mouths).

If you do your own renovations, this new law does not apply to you. However, the dangers of disturbed lead paint to children are well-documented. Homeowners would be wise to follow safety precautions when sanding, cutting into or otherwise disturbing paint that was applied prior to 1978.

Nye proclaimed we are all facing a challenging times and he applauds the small businesses on the Eastern Shore who are "on the economic front lines."

The Congressman also boasted of the legislation he added to the American Recovery and Reinvestment act providing tax incentives to small businesses who hire veterans returning home from conflict.

Healthcare also made Congressman Nye's address. Nye said he does support reform to increase healthcare coverage, but he felt President Obama's approach was not the correct way.

"We ought to have been looking at ways to save money and lower costs before we build in all the increases on the issue of coverage," explained Nye. "I think that is a better foundation for reaching the same goal."

Nye promised he would continue to focus on local issues and to represent the wishes of his constituents in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. He promised to keep tax burdens on small businesses low.

FAIRFAX, Va. - The jury deliberated for less than 20 minutes. They returned to the courtroom and declared Erick Williamson not guilty of indecent exposure.

One juror said she had a hard time not laughing during some of the testimony. Another juror said "it was easy."

But it has not been easy for Williamson. Police entered his Springfield home with guns drawn last October. He has spent months fighting the charge in court. His feeling Wednesday was of "relief, unbelievable, weight off my shoulders after six months."

Williamson acknowledges that he was naked inside his home on the day in question. His accuser, Yvette Dean, says she made eye contact with Williamson while he was standing naked in the doorway. She was walking her son to school. She testified that she gave Williamson the finger and had to shelter her son with her coat so that he could not see Williamson.

The defendant testified he never saw them and was busy drinking coffee and packing to move out of the house.

"I was not interested in exhibiting myself to anybody on the street, but in hindsight, now that that's happened, I won't have an open window in my house," said Williamson.

A judge convicted him in Fairfax County's General District Court. The appeal to county’s circuit court brought with it a jury.

Indecent exposure requires the government to prove intent. One juror said the prosecutor did not do that.

"People from the community are important to sit in judgment of people - not prosecutors, not judges, not police officers because absent these people from the community, he'd have this conviction over his head for the rest of his life," said defense attorney Dickson Young.

Williamson says the charge has created issues in the custody of his daughter and cost him his job. He has been living in Newport News, Va.

He hopes to get the case expunged, so he has a clean record. As for his accuser, she testified in court Wednesday, but has chosen not to talk to the media about the case.

A young Muslim woman had died after her burkha became snagged in a go-kart.

The 24-year-old woman, who has not yet been named, died a terrifying death today when a fluttering part of her burkha became caught in the wheels of a go-kart she was driving near the town of Port Stephens, north of Sydney.

The Muslim clothing the woman was wearing flew back as she sped around the track and part of it became entangled in the go-kart's wheels.

She was strangled in a second and crashed the vehicle.

Despite the efforts of paramedics who rushed to her aid, the neck and throat injuries she suffered were so severe that doctors were unable to revive her when she arrived at the John Hunter Hospital in the New South Wales city of Newcastle.

The young woman was riding the go-kart at a popular recreational area known as Bob's Farm, which offers rides of up to 15 minutes at a time.

Her death is being likened to that of American dancer Isadora Duncan, acknowledged as being the creator of modern dance, and who was famous for the flowing silk carves she liked to wear.

But while riding in an open-top car in Nice in 1927, her scarf became entangled in one of the vehicle's spoked wheels and she was strangled.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

This article is supposedly from a Pastor of a predominantly black church in Virginia. Whether this is from a real sermon or not, it makes a valid point. Perhaps each one of us should decide who our real leader is. It is amazing to see that very little has changed in 4,000 years. Think about the implication in regard to government-run health care.

VIRGINIA CHURCH SERVICE - STIMULUS SERMON

Good morning brothers and sisters; it’s always a delight to see the crowded pews on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God’s Word. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you will to Genesis 47. We’ll begin our reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27.

Brother Ray, would you stand and read that great passage for us?….(reading)…

Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray…..So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt, and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built.

So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.

So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock -their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey –to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year, But the famine wasn’t over, was it?

So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. ”There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land.Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh.” So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh’s government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.

What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?

That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes.. That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master? Yes.

But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters!Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, they gained possessions in it, were fruitful and multiplied greatly.” God provided for His people, just as he always has! They didn’t end up giving all their possessions to government, no, it says they gained possessions!

But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one. We see the same thing happening today – the government today wants to “share the wealth" once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us. When government rations it, government decides who gets it, the amount, and what kind. If we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago —as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.

What Mr. Obama’s government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh’s government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a “Messiah,” don’t they?Is he a Messiah? Is he a savior? Didn’t the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh”?

Well, I tell you this –I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh.

Bow with me in prayer, if you will.

Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, we rely on You, and alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never will be.

We read in the eighth chapter of 1st Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says “And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day….” And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh’s government.

Don't forget to vote for your favorite for the "People's Choice Award". Ballot boxes for donations are located at Eastern Shore Lanes and Country Blossoms by Lee.Tickets for the event are being sold at Scher's and County Blossoms by Lee.

The contest is sponsored annually by the Junior Woman's Club to raise funds for the Vi-Byrd and Junior Woman's Club scholarships, which are given to a Pocomoke High School graduating senior.

More gmail phishing, don't fall for this scam if you have a gmail account. This email is similar to the other phishing emails with a slightly different twist.

Gmail to supportshow details 9:32 AM (13 hours ago)

Due to the congestion in our Gmail servers,there would be removal of all unused Gmail Accounts.You will have to confirm if your E-mail is still active by filling out your login info below after clicking the reply button, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.

Account name: Password: DOB: Country :

Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his or her account within Seven days of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.Thank you for using Gmail !

DOG TO REUNITE WITH FAMILY CROSS COUNTRYVIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A happy homecoming is in the works for a Virginia Beach military family, but it's not what you might think.

Rick Smith and his family lost their dog "Bruno" a year-and-a-half ago when they lived in Washington State.But just last Friday, the 9-year-old yellow lab appeared outside Kristen Abercrombie's home, covered in mud.

She took Bruno to a veterinarian, who found a microchip with his old vet's phone number. She couldn't believe how far away his family was.

The Smith family arranged for a travel kennel and plane ticket to get Bruno to Virginia. He's set to arrive in Norfolk April 8 on a flight out of Seattle.

President Obama's latest strategic innovation in the war on terrorism is to ignore jihad and maybe it will go away.

The Obama administration is removing terms such as "jihad" and "Islamic extremism" from the U.S. National Security Strategy in an attempt to convince Muslim countries that America doesn't view them solely through the lens of counterterrorism. It's reasonable to look beyond terrorism in developing relationships with Islamic states. Our assistance programs are based on humanitarian motives, for example, so they need not explicitly draw links between promoting good will and hopefully making it less likely that people will fly aircraft into our buildings.

But the National Security Strategy is not some kind of outreach initiative, it is the framing document for America's global safety. The United States cannot effectively combat the root causes of Islamic extremism by ignoring them. The war on terror - rather, the "overseas contingency operation," in O Force terminology - won't be effective if this country overlooks the nature of the enemy and his motives. The U.S. strategic blueprint is not the proper place for a public-relations stunt.

Even the Muslim majority states in question understand the religious component of terrorism as a motivator, recruiting tool and strategic road map. They are threatened by Islamic extremism even more than the United States and have no problem describing the threat by its true nature, which must be understood if it is to be defeated.

The most troubling signal is the one being sent through the bureaucracy that any thoughtful discussion of Islamic radicalism and the global threat it poses will be hazardous to one's career. Analyses of the extremist Muslim threat will be increasingly deleted from briefing papers, assessments and planning documents. Those who continue to spread the alarm will be marginalized and ignored. Such sanitizing may please the White House, but it's likely to put the United States in more danger as threats that should have been detected in advance slip by because officials have been trained not to look for them.

The new development is a disturbing example of Mr. Obama's seeming obsession with all things Muslim. It's reminiscent of the Department of Homeland Security's 2009 draft glossary of domestic extremist groups that listed Christian and Jewish organizations as threats but didn't include any Muslim groups. Or the administration's obstinate unwillingness to describe the Fort Hood massacre as an example of Islamist terrorism, even though the shooter - Nidal Malik Hasan - clearly was wrapped up in that ideology and shouted the traditional jihadist war cry "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire.

Mr. Obama's Muslim mania increasingly pervades government and has yet to be adequately explained or even addressed. It places America in growing peril.

The Heritage Foundation, a self-described conservative think tank that espouses a free-market, small-government ideology, today released its annual Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings. And by its metrics, America's status has dropped from "free" to "mostly free."

Ranking countries throughout the world in 10 categories, the index concludes that the United States is now the eighth most economically free nation, down two spots from last year. Hong Kong ranked No. 1, while North Korea, which was categorized as "repressed," took the bottom rung.

Only seven countries actually rated as "free" on the index, which was released in conjunction with The Wall Street Journal (owned by conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp.).

The largest factor in the Heritage Foundation's demotion of the U.S. is the rise in government spending, especially under the Obama administration.

"The national government's role in the economy, already expanding under President George W. Bush, has grown sharply under the administration of President Barack Obama, who took office in January of 2009," the report read. "Economic growth, which collapsed in 2008, had resumed by the second half of 2009, but legislative proposals for large and expensive new government programs on health care and energy use (climate change) have increased prospects for significant economic disruptions and raised concerns about the long-term health of the economy."

Beating out the United States in terms of economic freedom were, in descending order: Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland and Canada.

Here's your chance to meet some of the doggies and kitties available for adoption and to help an animal that has fallen upon hard times.

The event is hosted by the SPCA Eastern Shore and Wheeler Real Estate Company. Enjoy activities such as a cake walk and face painting while looking to find your next best animal friend.

At the event will be experienced shelter staff, volunteers and trainers will be on hand to help find the right animal for visitors. The staff will be available to answer questions about any pet considered for adoption.

The adoption fee of $95 includes spray/neuter surgery, microchip, rabies vaccination, heartworm testing for dogs, FeL/FiV test for cats and distemper/parvo vaccination(s), as well as intra-nasal bordetella vaccine for dogs.

A special adoption discount is available for seniors! If you are 60 years old or older the SPCA, partnered with Purina, will drop the normal $90.00 adoption fee $45.00. Purina will pay the $50.00!!!

For more information, call the SPCA Eastern Shore at 757-787-7385 or contact them www.shorespca.com

RICHMOND — Gov. Bob McDonnell has brought Confederate History Month back to Virginia after an eight-year hiatus.McDonnell becomes the first governor since 2001 to designate April to commemorate the secessionist, slaveholding South. The last governor to do that was fellow Republican Jim Gilmore. Since then, Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine refused to issue the proclamation.

McDonnell’s 368-word declaration doesn’t mention slavery.

"I wasn’t focused on that. I was focused on ... the Civil War history, and the Confederate army and the fact that we’ve got battlefields here, and frankly that this is going to be a very important event here next year that will promote tourism and economic development," he said, noting the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

Warner, in his first year as governor in 2002, discontinued the proclamation sought each spring by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Before that, the proclamations were met annually with denunciations from black groups.

Black members of the General Assembly, all Democrats, said McDonnell’s proclamation was "ofensive and offered a disturbing revision of the Civil War and the brutal era that followed."

"Virginia has worked hard to move beyond the very things for which Gov. McDonnell seems nostalgic," said a statement issued by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.

Virginia was home to more of the war’s battles than any other state, and its Capitol in Richmond doubled as the Confederate seat of government.

McDonnell said slavery was not the lone issue contested in the war that ended with Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender in 1865 at Appomattox Court House, about 75 miles west of Richmond.

"There were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously it involved slavery, it involved other issues, but I focused on the ones that I thought were most significant for Virginia," McDonnell said.

Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, who in 1989 became the nation’s first elected black governor, said no discussion of the Old South or the Confederacy is balanced without mentioning the human bondage it tolerated.

"You have to think back about how it allowed people to be treated as inhuman," Wilder said in an Associated Press interview. "You can’t talk about this nation, its past, without saying that war was a time when many of its people were going through the ravages of hell, quite frankly."

Wilder himself issued a decree noting the Civil War. In 1990, he designated April 7-15 the "Final Chapter of the Civil War Days," recalling "those who sacrificed in this great struggle." His proclamation praised Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, but it also lauded President Abraham Lincoln and Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

Last year, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a bill designating April as Confederate Heritage and History Month in that state.

ONANCOCK -- The historic Metropolitan United Methodist Church at 21445 Bayside Road may have been saved by the quick response of some young people who happened to be driving by late Easter Sunday when they saw the wooden front doors of the church ablaze.

They quickly stopped their car and began trying to put out the fire while at the same time calling longtime church member Jesse Poulson. Poulson rushed to the church and also called police and Metropolitan's minister, the Rev. Mina Sumpter, who arrived moments later.

Poulson got the phone call about 10 p.m.

Officers from the Accomack County Sheriff's Office and the Onancock Police Department responded to the scene.

Poulson credited one young woman in particular with helping save the church because she remembered her grandmother, who lives nearby, had a fire extinguisher in her house. "She ran and got it. By the time I got there, the fire was out," Poulson said.

The historically African-American church, which dates to 1870, has about 150 members. The congregation had celebrated Easter services earlier that day.

Poulson is stymied as to why someone would want to set the church on fire, but speculated because of the fire's location that the person wanted it to be discovered rather than to actually burn the church down.

The building has three other entrances which are less apparent to passersby than the one where the fire was started. "They wanted it to be seen," he said, adding, "We've never had anything comparable to this in my memory, and I'm 67."

Damage was limited to the front door and items found at the scene indicate the fire was likely intentionally set.

POCOMOKE CITY -- Robert Hawkins and Diane Downing have been elected to serve on the Pocomoke City Council, representing District 1 and District 2, respectively.

Hawkins retained the seat he has held for 22 years with the help of 82 votes, compared to his challenger, Harvey Lynch, who received 17. Forty-six ballots were cast for Downing, 29 more than her opponent Duane Bias's 17, giving her the position recently left vacant by retiring councilman Honiss Cane.

"I'm very excited," Downing said after the results were announced. "I'm ready to get to work."

For Downing, a lifelong Pocomoke City resident, her victory represents her first foray into elected politics. Downing -- a former member of the city's Board of Elections and an employee of Worcester County government -- said she planned to clean up Pocomoke's neighborhoods, instituting neighborhood watches and other initiatives to combat local crime.

She said she also plans to create more opportunities for local youth to keep them out of trouble.

Tuesday's election marks only the second time Robert Hawkins has been challenged for the District 1 seat since first running for the position 22 years ago.

The veteran of City Hall first ran after retiring from a job with the federal government and had the time, he said, to attend meetings and represent the town at state and county functions.

"I go to a lot of meetings," Hawkins said, mentioning his position on the Lower Shore Tri-County Council and other local boards. "And I get something out of every one."

In his next term, the councilman said he will focus on updating local infrastructure, bringing more businesses to the historic downtown and encouraging companies to set up shop in the city's industrial park.

"I want to get another grocery store here and other small businesses," Hawkins said after his victory Tuesday. "That's what I'll work for."

Downing and Hawkins will take office at the next meeting of the Pocomoke City mayor and council on April 13.

A wet year and a warm weekend could mean swarms of mosquitoes on the Eastern Shore this spring. The season typically runs from March to November, with May to October being the prime months.

With warm weather now upon us, it won't be long before mosquitoes are breeding. That is why it is important for homeowners to check their yards for standing water, buckets and other places water could collect.

If you would like to keep mosquitoes away be sure to use insect repellent when you're outdoors, cover up as much of your skin as possible, eliminate standing water near your home and install or repair screen doors and windows.

Okay. I get that! And all containers have been emptied. My screens and doors stay fixed because if I don't keep them repaired it makes the house look ugly on the outside. The grass has been cut already this year and will get another good mowing before the weekend. Sooooo, I have done ALL I can possibly do to rid my yard of these horrible insects! Please take into consideration when you publish these little bits of info that this is HOT weather with humidity in this area. We have just spent a long cold winter and for some reason being outside and moving around planting flowers, etc. while being COVERED IN LONG SLEEVES AND LONG PANTS is not a happy thought!

So, Accomack County and the state of Virginia the best thing YOU can do for the fine tax payers of this county and state is get the VDOT out on the roads in the communities where there are homes and clean the ditches. If you would do YOUR part then maybe MY attempt at keeping these insects at bay wouldn't seem like such a waste of time. Don't you suppose that the green stagnate water sitting in front of our homes might be a breeding ground too?

By the way, you won't have to stop and check the ditch in front of my house or next door. We make the attempt to keep our water flowing. It's the other neighbors that don't care.

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